𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐞: 𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬

𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄 𝐒𝐔𝐂𝐊𝐄𝐃 𝐈𝐍 𝐀 𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇 as she felt herself being dragged into the real world. she groaned once she had opened her eyes, immediately seeing the glow in the dark stars and planets on her ceiling. she continued to stare up at the stars, seeing how they were becoming dimmer and dimmer with each passing day. the thought of the stickers not being able to glow anymore made her heartstrings pull, her thoughts going to her father. he was the one who had put them up there for her. she was 12 and had started taking a new medication for her adhd, which started to affect the way she slept. so he put them up to give her something to look at when she couldn't sleep.

she knew that she wasn't going back to sleep, so she crawled bed - her limbs cracking as she did so. the familiar sound that she had grown accustomed to was humming lowly in her ears, but as usual, she ignored it. she walked out of her room, flicking her light on as she did so. she tiptoed to the bathroom since she knew her mother was still sound asleep in her king sized bed. she would hate to accidentally wake the older woman up again, like she did a few nights ago.

stevie turned the light on as she entered the bathroom, walking over to the sink. she looked up at the mirror, being met with her reflection.

"i look like shit." she mumbled to herself. there were dark circles under eyes, accompanied with bags. her skin was also a lot paler from her lack of sleep.

but this was something that she was used to.

she did her morning routine before walking back into her room, gently closing the door. she got dressed in what she was going to wear for the day; a pair of baggy plaid pants - that looks like pajamas, a black hoodie - stolen from donnie, and her usual black chuck 70 converse. she didn't really care if she had gotten stares from her classmates because of her attire. she was too tired to deal with people's bullshit. she didn't make an attempt to do anything with her hair, her frizzy curls going in any direction. so instead of trying to run a comb through her brunette locks, she put a baseball cap on backwards.

she looked over to her digital clock on her nightstand, seeing "5:30 am" was shining in red LED lighting from before. she groaned slightly as she sat at her rolling chair, turning to look at her work. stevie was the type of girl who was always ahead of the class when it came to the work. she used her sleeping issues to advantage, doing homework that wasn't due for weeks. the teachers didn't mind giving her the work earlier than scheduled, all of them telling her that the work would be graded when everyone else's were. of course, stevie didn't mind it. she just wanted to be ahead. plus, all of the teachers knew that stevie had more sleeping issues than the average teenager, and knew that the girl wanted to distract herself with the work.

ever since she was little, she had always tried to distract herself with different tasks, in attempt to drown out the constant humming that were in her ears. humming or ringing, whatever you wanted to call it, but she hated it. sometimes it would get so loud to the point that she couldn't hear her surroundings, which would then cause her to have panic attacks. but because of the humming - and her getting bored really easily, the carpenter girl had picked up a lot of hobbies since the age of six.

if you was to walk inside her room, you would see a bunch of instruments sprawled throughout it, including her dad's old acoustic guitar that was attached to the right hand wall of her room by a hook. she also had a bookcase filled with a variety of books, it being neatly organized and labeled with the genre of all of her books. the bottom two shelves were dedicated to her science books, the middle three rows being filled with supernatural/fantasies books, the second shelf had a bunch of mangas, and the top row was books that her mother had given her.

on the left side of her room was a gray ikea desk that she had for years. it was covered in a bunch of different stickers and splattered paint. the right corner of it was chipped because her and donnie had done something that they were supposed to. what, exactly? she doesn't really remember. but she does know that she has a scar that went through her right eyebrow because of the action. her bed was in the left hand corner, nightstands on either side of the bed. it was a full size bed, which took up most of her room, but she didn't care.

there were posters pinned on the walls; various bands, and some posters of some of the earth's mightiest heroes - specifically black widow, and tony stark. of course she was a fan of the rest of the avengers, but she had a huge crush on black widow, and tony is someone that she looked up to. there's a bunch of pictures on one specific wall, some being of her and donnie, her and her parents, peter parker and ned leeds - two of her very close friend - and others of things she had taken. she was also into photography.

speaking of peter parker and ned leeds. they were just like stevie and donnie, attached by the hip. wherever you saw peter, you saw ned, and vice versa. the two duos had gotten really close their eighth grade year in middle school. once they got to high school, ned, peter, and stevie joined academic decathlon, while peter and donnie had joined band together - stevie would've joined, but she simply didn't want to. they've been called midtown high's nerd or geek squad, ned calling them the freaks and geeks squad. at first it was annoying to stevie, but she had gotten attached to the name now, and always greeted them with "hello, my fellow, freaks and geeks!"

stevie had looked at the clock that was in the top right corner of her laptop, seeing that it had been over an hour since she had started writing her paper. her eyes then drifted over to the number of pages she had written, making her raise her eyebrows.

"holy shit." she mumbled, seeing that she had written 6 pages.

"hey."

stevie jumped in her desk chair, almost tumbling out of it and onto the floor. she turned to her door, seeing that her mother, erin, was standing in her doorway. "jesus, ma! you almost gave me a heart attack!"

erin released an airy chuckle, her eyes scanning over her daughter. she noticed that the dark circles under stevie's eyes had gotten darker, making her frown slightly. "got any sleep tonight?"

"yeah, a few hours." stevie sighed. "but it sadly got interrupted. by what? i don't know.

erin released a sigh, still examining the 15 year old in front of her. she had grown accustomed to seeing the bags under her daughter's eyes. she knew that it was a side affect of the medication that stevie was on. the older woman had tried to give stevie things to help her sleep throughout the years, some of them working, others not so much.

"after work, i'm gonna go and get more of that tea to help you get some sleep tonight, okay?" erin informed.

"thanks, mama." stevie mumbled.

"spoke to donnie, yet?" erin questioned.

"uh, no." stevie answered, checking the time for the fourth time. "he wakes up in, like, ten minutes."

"it's weird that you know his sleep schedule." erin commented, scrunching her eyebrows together. 

"well, we've been best friends since first grade, ma." the curly haired girl pointed out, bringing a hand up to rub her tired eyes. "it's our jobs to know each other's schedules."

erin simply rolled her eyes, a small smile appearing on her lips. she remembered when she had met donnie, who at the time, was just 6 years old. he was missing one of his front teeth, but always had a toothy grin on his face. the older woman had been thankful for the boy appearing in her daughter's life, especially after what has happened the years prior. he had brought stevie out of the slump she was in.

"yeah, yeah." erin mumbled. "i'm gonna make some breakfast. do you want anything specific?" she questioned.

"uh, pancakes, please." stevie smiled.

"you got it." erin mumbled, walking away from her daughter's room and towards the kitchen.

"oh, and coffee!" stevie yelled, raising her eyebrows as she waited for her mother to yell back. she knew how erin had felt about her drinking coffee. "please, ma! i'm sleep deprived!"

"yeah, okay!" erin called back, making stevie smile in triumph.

stevie saved her paper on her laptop, learning from her past mistakes of not clicking the "save" button. she had typed a paper the year prior, and when she was done, she just closed her laptop. she opened it the next day to see that everything she had written had been erased, which had infuriated the girl.

she packed her sticker covered laptop into her book bag, zipping it up and putting it on her shoulder. she then walked over to her nightstand, unplugging her phone from her charger before she flicked her light off and walked out. she dropped her bag by the door before sitting at the dining table. she hummed in satisfaction as the smell of coffee started to fill the air. while she waited for her mother to make breakfast, she unlocked her phone and went to messages.

she clicked on her best friend's contact, a small smile on her lips as last night's messages appeared on her screen. they had been talking about peter. donnie was ranting about how much his crush on peter was getting out of hand.

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLE🐢💜
he literally just smiled at me, stevie. SMILED. and i turned into a tricking tomato

fricking** stupid autocorrect.

STEPHANOPOULOS💗👽
wait.
why am i named after that news anchor?

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLE🐢💜
because your name is stephanie, duh.
we've been through this.

STEPHANOPOULOS💗👽
i think it's safe to say that your schoolboy crush has turned into actual feelings.

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLE🐢💜
no! don't jinx it! that's not true!

STEPHANOPOULOS💗👽
no... i think it's true. why don't u just tell him how u feel?

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLE🐢💜
because he's in love with liz toomes. i mean i get. what's not to love?

STEPHANOPOULOS💗👽
yeah, but i know deep down he feels the same for u.

stevie's  smiled smile widened, rolling her eyes at the conversation. donnie has had a huge crush on peter since, like, ninth grade. stevie wasn't shocked when he had told her, but she did scream in triumph.

"i think i like peter." donnie mumbled, a blush spreading through his cheeks.

"ned and i made a bet. he owes me five dollars." stevie smiled, pulling her phone out.

"wha - you two knew?" donnie questioned.

"duh, we knew! you're so obvious!"

the carpenter girl started to tap on the screen, knowing that her best friend should be up by now. or at least on the verge of opening his eyes.

STEPHANOPOULOS💗👽
goooooddddd morning, donatello!

she didn't receive an answer, which means he was still knocked out in his bed.

STEPHANOPOULOS💗👽
you have ten minutes to respond or i'm calling to wake your ass up.
time starts now.

with that, she put her phone face down on the table. just in time, too, because he mother was placing a plate of pancakes in front of her. she then placed a mug full of coffee besides the plate, along with the small orange bottle that held stevie's medication. the younger girl's stomach growled as she looked down at the plate. she quickly drowned the flat cakes with syrup before she began to dig in, cutting them up with a fork and knife then stuffing them into her face. she put her fork down to pick up her mug of coffee, taking a sip so that it could wash down the pancakes.

"you look comfy." erin commented, looking at what her daughter was wearing.

"i'm too lazy to put effort into an outfit." stevie shrugged, shoving a forkful of pancakes into her mouth.

this went on for at least five minutes before she was done with her food. she neatly put her fork and knife on the plate. she released a satisfied huff as she picked up the pill bottle. she opened the bottle up, swiftly pouring a pill into her hand before she closed it. she popped the pill into her mouth, grabbing her coffee mug so that she could drink what was left in it.

"hey, don't get anymore coffee, okay?" erin voiced from her room down the hall. "you know how i feel abut you drinking coffee!"

"i won't!" stevie assured.

the curly haired girl got up from her spot, grabbing the mug and plate before she went into the kitchen. she gently put them into the sink, running water over them so that they wouldn't be hard to wash later. she turned around and leaned on the counter, letting her eyes wander around the kitchen. it was relatively small, only having the usual necessities for a kitchen inside of it. the color on the walls were a peach color, it being her father's idea to paint it that color. at the thought of her father, her eyes wandered over to the fridge.

there was a picture of stevie, erin, and nathan on the door of the fridge, being held up by a magnet. they were outside of the avengers tower, stevie only being 11 at the time. it was taken right before the battle of new york. luckily, they had gotten to safety before either of them could get hurt. stevie smiled at the memory of the picture. that was right before everything went to shit. literally.

she heard her phone ring on the dining table, snapping her out of her thoughts. she walked out of the kitchen and to the table, picking up her phone to see a text message from donnie. she smiled as she unlocked it, seeing that it was not just one message, but several.

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLE🐢💜
i'm up, i'm up. don't u dare call me.

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLE🐢💜
my little sister came in and slapped me in the face. currently deciding if i want to get a cup of water and pour it over her head.

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLE🐢💜
how should i do my hair? leave it out? half up, half down? or go full man bun? or wear a hat?

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLE🐢💜
u have a lot of nerve threatening me with a call and you're not even answering me.
best friend foul.

stevie rolled her eyes, wondering how long she had been standing in the kitchen for.

STEPHANOPOULOS💗👽
don't get your panties in a twist, mister. i got lost in my thoughts.

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLE🐢💜
yeah, whatever.
am i coming to get u or?

STEPHANOPOULOS💗👽
nah, i'll take the train. don't want u to have to go through all that trouble.

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLE🐢💜
ugh, you're the best.
see u at school. love u.

STEPHANOPOULOS💗👽
love u too.

stevie checked the time, seeing that she needed to leave or she would be late. she grabbed her bag and her keys from the hook, putting her bag on her back as she unlocked and opened the door. "ma! i'm leaving!"

"okay! be safe! love you!" erin yelled from her room.

"love you, too!"

stevie closed the door and locked it before she went to the elevator. she pulled out her wired headphones, untangling them before plugging them into her phone and the earbud into her ears. she went to press the button but the elevator doors opened with a ding, revealing peter.

"uh, hey, stevie." he greeted awkwardly.

"hey, pete." stevie smiled, walking into the elevator.

the elevator closed before the cart started making it's way down to the lobby. the parker boy had his headphones in as well, awkwardly bouncing on the balls of his feet. this is something that happened on a daily, especially because of the fact that peter lived a floor above her. they would usually walk to the train and go to school together.

"so, uh, d - did you see that video of spider-man saving that lady?" peter questioned, scratching the back of his neck.

"when he swung in and moved her from getting squished by a bus?" stevie asked, wanting to make sure that they were talking about the same video. peter simply nodded. "it was cool. his suit needs some serious upgrading, though. it looks like he's wearing an old sweatsuit."

the tips of peter's ears turned pink, but stevie didn't notice. "maybe he doesn't have the right materials to make a better suit." he reasoned, sticking up for the vigilante that was always covered in red and blue.

stevie shrugged. "maybe he should talk to tony stark."

the parker boy didn't say anything, going into his own mind. if only he could tell her what was actually going on, but he couldn't - for her safety, and their friends'. silence fell over the duo as they walked to the train station.

"s - so how has donnie been?" peter asked, red seeping into his cheeks at the mention of the boy.

stevie smiled at the question. she had a small feeling that the boy beside her had a crush on her best friend, but was too distracted with his feelings for liz toomes to notice the crush. i mean, stevie understood why peter would have a crush on liz; she was a senior, who was really smart. and because of her smarts, she was the captain of the decathlon team. she was also very popular in midtown high, every student knowing her. she wasn't the cliche mean girl, though. she was actually really nice and caring to everyone, which stevie admired about her. flash thompson needed to get some lessons from her because he was a complete dickhead.

and even if liz was very smart, popular, and beautiful, stevie had her eyes on someone else.

"he's been all right." stevie answered, shrugging her shoulders. "why do you ask? didn't you go to his to work on a project?" she quizzed

"yeah. but something came up, so i had to go." peter answered. "he - he wouldn't answer any of my texts, so i think he's mad."

stevie narrowed her eyes at the parker boy, easily seeing that there was something he wasn't telling her. he wasn't really good at lying, his tales being extremely easy to read. either his voice would crack or he would become really flushed.

"well, don't worry." she began, deciding that she wasn't gonna ask what was actually going on. "he's gonna be talking to you within an hour of school starting."

"you think so?" peter questioned.

"oh, i know so, petey." the carpenter girl told him, a knowing look on her face.

peter nodded, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards into a shy smile. she didn't know how much longer she could wait for her best friend and peter to stop being oblivious and get together.

⚛︎ ✳︎ 𖢥 ✳︎ ⚛︎

𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐏𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐊𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐎 the parker boy's locker, seeing ned patiently waiting there for his best friend. once he had seen the two, his face lit up, a smile spreading across his lips.

"hey, stevie." he greeted as peter put his combination into his locker.

"hey, ned." stevie smiled.

stevie quickly fist bumped him as she walked past. she continued walking through the halls for a few minutes before she finally appeared at her locker. she quickly put in her combination, opening the metal door so that she could grab the textbooks that she needed. she groaned as she remembered that she had her ap european history class today. it's not that she disliked the class, she just knew that she would end up dozing off at some point in it. and donnie didn't have the class with her to wake her up.

"good morning to my favorite human being in the world." the voice of a certain long haired boy greeted, making stevie smile.

she turned to see that her best friend was leaning on the locker beside hers, a smile on his pink lips. "for someone who was slapped awake, this morning, you sure seem happy." she laughed, grabbing her notebook.

"must you remind me of my sister's actions?" donnie questioned, running his slim fingers through his light brown hair.

even though stevie was tall, donnie hovered over her by an inch and a half, being 5 foot and 9 and a half inches. his long locks framed his slim face perfectly. the dim lights that were shining above shadowed his featured, making his cheekbones more prominent. it also made his blue eyes light up even more than they already were. his wardrobe this morning consisted of an oversized gray flannel, a black hoodie underneath, denim jeans - with the ends cuffed, and a pair of doc martens. his book bag was hanging from his right shoulder, his hand keeping it in place.

"yes, i must." stevie shot back, making the taller boy roll his eyes.

donnie's eyes scanned the curly haired girl in front of him, taking in her attire and her face. he immediately noticed the dark circles and bags under her eyes, along with how pale her skin was. "got any sleep?" he questioned.

"yeah, a few hours. but then i woke up at, like, four this morning. ." stevie mumbled, stuffing her notebook into her bag before she zipped it up. she then closed her locker and leaned on the metal door, the cold material cooling her down. "i just wanna sleep for a full 8 hours, don.

donnie gave her a sympathetic look, bringing his hand up to pull her into him. "hey, at least you got some type of sleep, right? it's better than no sleep."

the carpenter girl put her face into his chest, "that is true. my mom is gonna buy me that sleepy tea."

"that's good. does that mean i can come over?" the taller boy asked, eyebrows raised.

"donnie, i could be up for two weeks, and you would still be able to come over. you know this."

the watson boy smiled at the comment. he did know that, he's known that since before he could remember. but there was just something about hearing it out loud that brought warmth to his heart. "i know."

the bell rang, making stevie jump in donnie's arms. usually the loud shrill wouldn't bother her, but because of lack of sleep, like her senses are dialed to 11. donnie raised his eyebrows in surprise, looking down at his best friend to make sure that she was okay. she pulled her head away from his chest, bringing her hand up to rub her tired eyes.

"i hate that bell." she mumbled, looking like a five year old.

all donnie could do is chuckle, "i know you do. now let's get your ass to your most favorite class: ap european history!"

"ugh." stevie groaned, a pout taking over her features. "why did the have to give me this class as first period?!"

"i don't know. but let's go." donnie shrugged, grabbing stevie's wrist and dragging her through the halls.

she let out a few more groans, following donnie to the class that was only a few halls down. this was gonna be a long ass day.